Jennifer Ezeobi

In our latest Btrust grantee spotlight, we feature @Camilla_rhi, a developer who went from night-time coder to full-time Bitcoin open-source contributor. Rita’s story captures the reality for many African developers: balancing a 9-to-5 job while pursuing their passion for open-source development. Through dedication, late nights, and perseverance, she found her way into the ₿OSS program and eventually to her first open-source contributions. Thanks to the Btrust developer grant, Rita is now able to focus full-time on Bitcoin open-source development, contributing to projects like LDK Node, deepening her technical expertise, and empowering others to do the same. Her journey reminds us that with the right support, mentorship, and funding, builders across Africa can play a central role in shaping a more open and decentralized financial system. Read the full story on our blog to discover how Rita turned persistence into purpose, and how Btrust Grants are helping African developers build the future of Bitcoin: blog.btrust.tech/from-night-tim… Learn more about Btrust developer grants here: btrust.tech/grants/develop…

Day 2 of the bootcamp and the energy is even higher! @Genie_cj led us through a deeply hands-on session that took our learning to the next level. We built on the Bitnob API fundamentals from yesterday and explored real, practical tools — from creating payment links to testing out available plugins and integrations. It’s the kind of session where everything starts to click: concepts move from theory into real workflows, and you begin to see how builders can actually ship with Bitcoin and Lightning. Loving how engaged everyone is, and can’t wait to see what they create with these tools during the afternoon session. #bitnobXdadadevs #build4Africa #hackathon #bitcoin #lightningnetwork

@btrustteam @ihate1999 Congratulations @ihate1999 🎉

In July, we put out a call for a Chief Executive Officer, and after a long, thoughtful, and rigorous selection process, we’re excited to share that @ihate1999 has been appointed as the new CEO of Btrust. Abubakar will be stepping down from his position on the Board to take on this full-time role, where he will report directly to the Btrust Board. His appointment marks an important new chapter for Btrust as we continue our mission to strengthen and support open-source development across Africa and beyond. This is a three-year term, with the possibility of renewal by a subsequent board for one additional three-year period. Read more about the appointment, as featured by @micahvzimmerman on @BitcoinMagazine: bitcoinmagazine.com/builders/btrus… Join us in congratulating Abubakar on this new role and in looking forward to what’s ahead for us.

@Genie_cj is a software engineer driven by a passion for financial inclusion. With her clear vision and dedication, she reminds us that technology has a purpose: to open doors for those who have long been left out. Her presence in the faculty ensured that participants not only learned code but also understood the human impact of their work.

@Genie_cj and @lady_neerah will also lead an interactive session on Building a Career in Bitcoin. They will guide the audience through what it means to contribute to Bitcoin, not only in development but also in roles like design, communications, and education. They will discuss challenges women often encounter and share advice on how to overcome them, as well as explore opportunities for mentorship, funding, and career growth. #OSCAFest25

We’re excited to be sponsoring and taking part in #OSCAFest25, Africa’s largest open-source festival. 🎉 The event brings together developers, designers, students, and organizations to learn from each other, create new ideas, and strengthen the open-source movement. This year’s theme is “Beyond Borders”, and it’s the perfect reflection of what we believe in: building technology that connects people across the world. 📅 Save the date: August 15 – 16, 2025 📍 Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, Nigeria Get your ticket at tix.africa/discover/osf-25 and use the code OSF25BTRUST50 to get 50% off.

Join the Bitnob Developers Bootcamp and Hackathon in Kampala, Uganda and stand a chance to win cash prizes up to $3,000. This is your chance as a developer, software engineer, startup founder or tech entrepreneur to learn, connect and build. 👉workshop.ug.bitnob.com

@iphie_eze Well done babe❤️

Longtime no “bonjour and bonsoir” 🇫🇷 Progress Report: Je ne sais pas what is going on 🤷‍♀️, but we mooooooooove 😂😂😂

We’re almost at the end of our first open-source bootcamp, and what a journey it’s been. 🚀 The program was designed to give developers the skills, structure, and support they need to start contributing meaningfully to Bitcoin open source. Each week built on the last, moving from understanding the basics to diving deep into the different open-source projects. Here’s what the experience has looked like so far, and the incredible faculty who led the way: 🔹 Week 1: Orientation & Environment Setup Facilitators: @_tvpeter & @Genie_cj We kicked off with an orientation from @StephTitcombe, who shared the vision behind the bootcamp and how it connects to longer-term opportunities like the @btrustteam Starter Grant. @kelvinator05 followed with a session on getting started in open-source. He talked about finding projects that match your skills and interests, learning how to onboard yourself, and building a strong contributor profile from day one. On the technical side, Peter and Jennifer led builders through setting up Bitcoin Core from source and exploring the codebase. A foundation for the weeks to follow. 🔹 Week 2: Understanding Bitcoin Core Internals Facilitators: @Extheo & @IgboPharaoh Builders explored how Bitcoin Core works, diving into the peer-to-peer network, mempool logic, consensus mechanisms, and wallet features. They ran functional and unit tests, traced RPCs, reviewed merged PRs, and saw how changes are proposed and accepted in the Bitcoin dev process. 🔹 Week 3: Choosing a Project & Joining the Ecosystem Facilitators: @raphael_eyerin & @jackhoudini__ Builders selected projects from @Bitcoin_Devs, ideally something that aligned with their language skills or sparked their curiosity. They then set up local environments, ran test suites and explored CI pipelines. Some reviewed issues and PRs, while others began engaging with the projects' community channels, identifying maintainers, and participating in development discussions. 🔹 Week 4: Making Real Contributions Facilitators: @jrakibi & @dzeg5 This week was all about practice. Builders are selecting good first issues, writing and testing production-ready code, submitting pull requests, and collaborating with maintainers. Some have even started reviewing other contributors’ PRs and planning their next issues. Throughout the bootcamp, the energy has been incredible. We've had builders supporting each other, sharing their progress, celebrating wins, and learning together. Stay tuned. More updates are on the way as we approach the finish line.

We kicked off the day with a powerful Bitcoin wallet security session led by the brilliant @Bitnob_official engineers, Muniratt and @Genie_cj From hot wallets to hardware, security layers to threat models, attendees were scribbling notes like their financial freedom depended on it. Because it does! To top it off, we were joined by @Aceola234 and @ShaunTime, who introduced the crowd to Nostr and how to navigate it using @YakiHonne.

We appreciate our anchors for the space @rukundo__ & @Genie_cj, every speaker that contributed to the discussion @femilonge @mary_imasuen @toheebojuolape_ @sadeeq_ismaela @raphael_eyerin @Vlad_kwasi, and everyone else that tuned in! 👏 Recording: twitter.com/i/spaces/1eaKb…

Submit your ideas to the Build for Africa Hackathon - #home" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">eventornado.com/event/build-fo…

Join us for a live discussion tomorrow on "🎙️Why Build #Bitcoin Solutions for Africa?" Mark your calendar and set a reminder for the space here: twitter.com/i/spaces/1eaKb… Don't miss out on this insightful conversation. See you there! 🚀

In a catch-up with one of our Genesis cohort fellows, Munirat Olayiwola @lady_neerah, shares how she always wanted to learn about Bitcoin. Now working with @Bitnob_official, her interest peaked during the ENDSARS protest in 2020 when she realised a person could make payments

Yesterday, we held a twitter space where experienced bitcoin developers @Genie_cj , @okjodom , @Vlad_kwasi tackled a very interesting subject; "Opportunities in Open Source Bitcoin Development for Africans" Here are some insights into what was discussed. A mini thread.

Countdown has started... 4 days to go If yoi have not registered, register using the link: eventbrite.com/e/bitdev-lagos… #bitcoin

Interested in Bitcoin development and open source opportunities in the space? You shouldn’t miss this!

Exciting news! Bitdev Nigeria is the first community of Bitcoin developers in Lagos Nigeria, and we're here to build, learn and grow together. Join us on this journey of innovation and disruption. #bitcoin #Nigeria

Certainly one of my favorite convos🔥 Thanks again for having me bro @ODELL, it was an awesome pleasure. Incredible work from @SpecificMills and the team @BitcoinMagazine. I highly recommend watching the other episodes; great insights.